Gracefulfitness

Tomorrow I turn 31.

While I haven’t been publicly ruminating on this birthday like I was the last, it’s still been on my mind over the last several weeks. In general, I love birthdays, especially other people’s birthdays. It’s the one day of the year we each get to ourselves, to be celebrated and honored. Birthdays also tend to be an introspective time, especially as an adult.

Last year I did a lot of preparation before embarking on my 30′s. I vowed to interrupt less, to cut back on mindless munching, to take better care of my skin and improve my stress coping methods, to not overeat anymore, and to let go of negative body thoughts about my knobby knees and fat fingers.

Boy was I ambitious back in my 20′s.

This list was lofty but also realistic, reading back over my ‘goals’ I can see how I’ve been successful in all of these areas. Maybe I still occasionally forget the sunscreen or toss food in my mouth without complete awareness but overall I was able to leave many of those “bad habits” back with my 20′s.

Speaking of being introspective around birthdays, I am pleased to report the I checked in with myself and where I am at in my life and decided that I am perfectly content and very happy. I love my town, my friends, my home, my family, and my husband perhaps more than ever before. Life is so good.

I’m growing garlic for the first time this year.

Back in October I tenderly shoved cloves into the ground and before long they started sprouting.

Originally I was going to write a post on garlic scapes, because although I’ve never actually eaten them before I’ve heard that they are one of those fleeting Spring treasures. I was all excited to chop off the scapes and make all kinds of tasty treats when I realized, thru a little research, that I might have planted softneck garlic, not the hardneck variety that produces a scape.

Here’s the type I planted, no hardneck. Or has it just been chopped off?

To add to my dismay, it appears that the shoots my garlic is putting off are a last resort at survival.

Help! Am I growing a softneck variety that is ready for harvest because it’s about to bolt or am I growing a hardneck, in which case I should let the scapes curl and then eat them up?

One thing I know for sure, I have greens galore!

Last night we were lucky enough to be invited over to a friend’s for dinner and I brought the salad. The base was finely chopped Red Russian kale massaged with toasted sesame oil and smoked sea salt. I also threw in some preserved lemons, thin slices of fresh red radish from the garden, chive blossoms, and a sprinkle of grated raw milk herb cheese from the farmer’s market.

It was an awesome combo and a big hit, I will definitely repeat and next time try to snap a photo!